BAR End depot site could see huge developments if a sale is approved by the city council.
Winchester City Council’s Cabinet is being asked to approve the freehold sale of the Bar End depot site to provide affordable and private homes and a residential care home, as well as a convenience store.
The proposal follows a request for bidders to put forward commercially viable schemes that would take into consideration local needs too.
The preferred bidder, McCarthy & Stone, proposes that the site would include 56 senior living units, a 72-bed care home and 38 affordable housing apartments, as well as a 4,300sq ft convenience store.
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It would also enhance pedestrian routes through the site, affording improved access to the Winchester Sport and Leisure Park and other local facilities for Highcliffe residents.
The former depot site has been largely unused for seven years, and the council paper posits that a freehold sale of the site represents good financial sense at this point in time as the development market has sufficiently recovered.
Community feedback in 2022 and 2023 indicated that retail was a high priority for the local community. The bidder predicts that the proposed development would create over 100 jobs on site.
The proposals will be discussed at the scrutiny committee on October 14 before going to cabinet for a decision on October 15.
If approved, McCarthy & Stone will need to bring forward a full planning application.
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